anyone over 35 going for fertility treatments this year? IUI, IVF etc

[LLbean]

So, doing this in December would mean I could have the write off for my 2011 taxes!

DING DING DING!!! You got it Dmom!!!

 

[Indigo77]

Thanks! I think I saw lodging on there, too!

 

[Milty]

it actually depends on when you pay it. So if you want a 2012 deduction wait until Jan. to pay if you want 2011 pay in Dec.

 

[crystal443]

I know..we are lucky..we don't have to finance and we can reuse the money. Very very lucky

If I had to do 2 rounds of IVF, it could be up to $60k...

I cannot do that...one IVF cycle is it.

I know and its not fair..I wanted to throw a fit and say I'm not doing this again when we had to cancel and then I thought about you ladies in the States and Canada and thought I am lucky I can cancel and keep going..or that I can look at it from it may not work the first time but it should work in three cycles.

I love Canada its my home but its the same there for infertility treatments..they'll pay for everything else but if you need medical help getting pregnant they won't pay. Its ridiculous..I don't get how some countries like Australia or the UK can cope with helping pay for treatment but Canada and the US can't? No one should have to that amount of money..it really is highway robbery..Ok done with my rant

 

[dachsundmom]

You don't want to know what I pay a month for health insurance, lol.

 

[crystal443]

I've always found the US health system so complicated Your premiums would probably put me into shock

 

[dachsundmom]

I've always found the US health system so complicated Your premiums would probably put me into shock

IDK if it's really any higher, relatively speaking, to the taxes you guys pay to have a national health system. But, here, you are really screwed if you cannot afford insurance or if you work for someone who doesn't offer benefits.

 

[crystal443]

Yep true enough, I guess don't notice as much when it comes out in taxes

 

[LLbean]

yeah but then you see the UK and how they are put on waiting list...frankly I don't know what is worse

 

[crystal443]

Yep..they can wait quite awhile on the list which would be absolute torture. Their cycles sound quite cheap if they pay privately but I think with the exchange and all of that it might end up being around what I pay.

 

[sarahincanada]

yeah but then you see the UK and how they are put on waiting list...frankly I don't know what is worse

I actually think Canada has it pretty good.....most things are covered (just not infertility) but without the crazy wait times in england (I grew up in the uk). the uk is crazy, that tiny island and they keep allowing people in to live there

I think in 10 years there will be more private health clinics here though, people with money will want to pay for the best.

 

[hockey24]

I'm reading this late today.

Congrats Sarah on your positive FS appt today! That is great news that they are supportive of IVF whenever you are ready. I agree with the others - put the money towards IVF and take a month off to allow your mind and body to rest.

Wouldn't it be great to have a BFP for the holidays???? Can't wait to hear what you decide and when your timing will be!

And I totally agree on insurance - its ridiculous that infertility is rarely covered by insurance and from what I've researched, it does not cost a company that much more to have it included in their plans (for folks on group plans). I know in the US there are a few states that require some infertility coverage. I wonder how we can start lobbying our states to make that requirement across the board???

 

[googly]

New Zealand is pretty good I think. Treatments are publicly funded based on a points system, which is based on medical need/age/time TTC, including time on medication. It is strongly skewed towards 35-40 yr olds (cool for me).

I qualify for it when I have done 9 rounds of clomid, and then its free IUI/IVF (for a certain amount of cycles at least, not sure how many).

If you don't qualify, then yes, privately funded is quite spensy:

IUI is NZ$1,400 + meds if required + FS appts (a friend of mine's cost NZ$1,800 (US$1,400) all up).
IVF is about NZ$10,000 (US$7,700) including meds; ICSI is an additional NZ$2,000 (US$1,550).
PGD is about NZ$20,000 (US$15,500), inclusive of IVF, embryo biopsy etc. Yikes!

 

[crystal443]

That's interesting Googly, I assumed it would be similiar to here..that's a great medical system. If you already have kids do you still qualify?

 

[googly]

That's interesting Googly, I assumed it would be similiar to here..that's a great medical system. If you already have kids do you still qualify?

Yep, these are a few scenarios they give:

Typical scenarios, which gain a score of at least 65, include:

• A couple with severe infertility, no children, who have been trying for a year or more
• A couple with unexplained infertility who have been trying for five years
• A couple with severe infertility, one child from a previous private treatment, who have been trying for at least three years
• A lesbian couple where the woman wanting to become pregnant has a biological cause of infertility of at least a year’s duration
• A single woman whose investigations are normal, but who has not become pregnant after 12 cycles of privately-funded donor insemination.

(where 65 = the score you need on the CPAC (clinical priority assessment criteria))

So you'd fit in the third example maybe?

AND, those are only examples... it comes down to the exact mix of points/criteria for your situation.

 

[crystal443]

That is fantastic!! DH should have been a kiwi

 

[crystal443]

Sorry,lol.. I meant my DH should have been a kiwi He thinks we had it better in canada for medical but they have it great over here, and he wants to move back!! He'll be moving by himself I love it here

 

[googly]

Haha... you should move here! Here's some other stuff. How old are your kids again?

Factors which make patients ineligible for public funding

Women who smoke (women need to have been non-smokers for at least 3 months)
Women who have a BMI greater than 32 must reduce weight to become eligible
Women aged 40 or older
Having two or more children aged 12 or younger living at home

Factors associated with a higher CPAC score

Severe cause of infertility - such as no or very poor sperm, severe endometriosis, damage to both the fallopian tubes, anovular or not pregnant after clomiphene treatment
Longer duration of infertility

Factors which reduce CPAC score – but funding may be possible:

Having one child 12 or younger living at home
Having had a vasectomy or tubal ligation. Where one of the couple has had a vasectomy or tubal ligation, duration of infertility for CPAC scoring starts from when the couple first see a doctor about having a child.

In addition

Since duration of infertility is a major prognostic factor, most couples gain more points with time. A 'Care and Review' option is managed for couples who are likely to become eligible within two years of consultation.
Lesbian Couples and single women are eligible for treatment if they have a biological cause for infertility, or if they have not become pregnant from 12 cycles of donor insemination.
Funding covers the most appropriate treatment, which may include insemination with partner's sperm, donor insemination, IVF, IVF with sperm microinjection (ICSI), egg donation and surrogacy.
Treatment can be stopped if a woman does not respond sufficiently well to the drugs used for treatment.
Public funding covers the cost of treatment, but does not cover legal costs for surrogacy and some types of donation. Only the first $400 of egg donor reimbursements is covered.

 

[crystal443]

Your killing me now,lol.. my kids are 13 and 15 and I used Clomid and it didn't work..I don't smoke, not overwieght and I'm under 40. That is amazing coverage, we do have great coverage here but we still have to have the money up front, and Australia is called the lucky country? I think not,lol

 

[Cypress]

Hi everyone - this is a really interesting discussion, to see the costs in different countries. Just wanted to mention that the long waiting times on the national health service in the UK are, I believe, largely a thing of the past - it depends where you live in the country, but many public fertility clinics don't have any waiting times at all, eg the one I go to. (Or has anyone here experienced long waiting lists on the NHS?)
What is really unfair is that each small area decides on its own IVF policy ('the postcode lottery') - there is 'national guidance', but each hospital is free to ignore it, so some areas offer the full 3 free founds, some 1 or 2, whilst some give no funded IVF at all; and they each decide on their own qualifying criteria; it's crazy and unfair.